Weaving Zen Threads into Beat Tapestries: Diane di Prima's Open Form Experimentation

Xirong Liu

doi:10.47297/wspctWSP2515-470206.20250901

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Weaving Zen Threads into Beat Tapestries: Diane di Prima's Open Form Experimentation

Volume 9, Issue 1

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Weaving Zen Threads into Beat Tapestries: Diane di Prima's Open Form Experimentation
Weaving Zen Threads into Beat Tapestries: Diane di Prima's Open Form Experimentation
School of Foreign Studies, East China University of Political Science and Law, Shanghai 201620, P.R.China
Vol. 9, Issue 1, Pages: 47-65(2025)
Published：29 May 2025
DOI：10.47297/wspctWSP2515-470206.20250901
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Liu Xirong.Weaving Zen Threads into Beat Tapestries: Diane di Prima's Open Form Experimentation[J].Critical Theory,2025,09(01):47-65.
DOI：

Liu Xirong.Weaving Zen Threads into Beat Tapestries: Diane di Prima's Open Form Experimentation[J].Critical Theory,2025,09(01):47-65. DOI： 10.47297/wspctWSP2515-470206.20250901.

摘要

Abstract

As a doyenne of the Beat Generation

Diane di Prima's literary trajectory epitomizes the movement's philosophical evolution. While the Beats' initial pursuit of liberation through Dionysian excess manifested in sexual liberation

substance experimentation

and performative rebellion which constituted an illusive union between existential angst and utopian idealism

di Prima's engagement with Zen Buddhism catalyzed a paradigmatic shift. This epistemological rupture transcended the Western dialectical tradition

embracing instead the Buddhist principles of "enlightenment

emptiness

interdependence

and compassion". This study aims to trace the Beats' spiritual negotiation with and poetic appropriation of Zen Buddhism through diving into the Buddhist imprint in di Prima's open form creation as the poet abandons western binaries and poses as an enlightened intuitive perceiver

impermanent mindful syncretist and compassionate ecological protector. The non-dual Zen ideas cooperate well with her open form poetics which emphasizes the interaction among the poet

the poem and the reader

the body engagement in poetry composition

and the dependent relationship between human and nature.

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